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Chrisco
v. Honda
The
Defendant decided to settle a case involving a 1986
Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle. Dwayne Chrisco, the operator
of his 1986 Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle was severely
injured when he inadvertently left the side stand in
the down position and proceeded along the highway near
the small town of Glennie, Michigan. When he realized
that the side stand had been left in the down position,
he attempted to retract it and was unable to do so.
When he pulled to the side of the road to retract the
side stand, the side stand lodged in the roadway catapulting
him into the air causing Mr. Dwayne Chrisco to sustain
a fractured cervical spine which rendered him quadriplegic.
Suit
was filed in the United States District Court in Jonesboro,
Arkansas and Plaintiff proceeded on the theory that
Honda should have utilized an interlock device to prevent
the motorcycle from starting or being placed into gear
with the side stand in the down position. Honda had
utilized a one dollar rubber tip which Honda expected
to cause the side stand to retract when it encountered
pavement. This design had been recalled in Germany in
the same year that Chrisco's motorcycle was manufactured.
The
Plaintiff, Chrisco, died in November 2000 before the
trial setting in February 2001 and the case was settled
for a confidential amount. AIEG Member, Ralph E. Chapman
of Clarksdale, MS represented the Plaintiff. Plaintiff's
experts were: Randy Nelson (Alternative Designs and
Writer Behavior); William Kitzes of Product Safety and
Design; Dr. George Pearsall, Product Safety and Design.
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